Maple Leafs Add Much-Needed Center Scott Laughton In Deal With Flyers

There's an arms race a-brewin' in the NHL's Atlantic Division with the three top dogs — the Florida Panthers, Toronto Maple Leafs, and Tampa Bay Lightning — all beefing up ahead of the trade deadline on Friday afternoon.

While the Panthers added Bruins captain Brad Marchand, the Lighting re-acquired Yanni Gourde and also received Oliver Bjorkstrand in a deal with the Seattle Kraken.

As for the Leafs, they filled a big need by bringing in former Philadelphia Flyer Scott Laughton who should slot in nicely as a third-line center.

The Leafs are one of the most talented, offensively potent teams in hockey and have been over the last few years… when it comes to their top six.

Because of how much money has been dumped into Auston Matthews, William Nylander, John Tavares, and Mitch Marner, former GM Kyle Dubas and current GM Brad Treliving have had their hands tied.

All sorts of players have been tried over the years, but I think Laughton's solid, defensively responsible style will be a good fit for the Leafs.

The Toronto Maple Leafs filled a big need by acquiring Flyers center Scott Laughton. (Getty Images)

Look at every team that has won the Stanley Cup over the last 10 years, and I think the thing that sticks out to me the most is that every team that had depth could roll four lines pretty much all night every night.

Sure, you need your best players to be your best players and to carry the load, but while the opposition's focus is on them, you need the bottom six forward to step up.

Teams like the Florida Panthers last season, the Vegas Golden Knights before them, the Colorado Avalanche before them, and so forth, have had that.

The Leafs have not, but Laughton is a good step in that direction.

Is this going to be the season that the Leafs finally make a serious run through the Stanley Cup Playoffs?

We shall see…